Rolls Royce - Rolls-Royce Corniche I Convertible

Rolls-Royce Corniche Silver Shadow Convertible (1973)
Beautiful original Rolls-Royce Corniche from the 1ste series

Luxury, Comfort and Style. Three words that describes the brand Rolls-Royce and certainly this beautiful original Rolls-Royce Corniche from the 1st series.

In the 60’s Rolls-Royce built a coupe and cabriolet model based on the famous Silver Shadow. These were called the Silver Shadow Coupé and Silver Shadow Drophead Coupé. From 1971 these coupe and convertible versions of the Silver Shadow got their own name the ‘Rolls-Royce Corniche’.

The Rolls-Royce Corniche is a two-door, front-engine, rear wheel drive five-seater manufactured and marketed by Rolls-Royce as a coupé and convertible from 1971 to 1995. The Corniche was a development of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, with the two door variants of that model marketed as the "Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward two door fixed head coupé & drop head coupé" from 1966 until when the Corniche name was applied. The model was assembled and finished in London at Mulliner Park Ward as continuation of the 1965 Silver Shadow coupe and 1966 drop head, with the Corniche name applied in March 1966. The Corniche was also sold as a Bentley, though that model became known as the Continental in 1984.

The Corniche, available as coupé or convertible, used the standard Rolls-Royce V8 engine with an aluminium-silicon alloy block and aluminium cylinder heads with cast iron wet cylinder liners. The bore was 4.1 in (104.1 mm) and the stroke was 3.9 in (99.1 mm) for a total of 6.75 L (6,750 cc/411 cuin). Twin SU carburettors were initially fitted, but were replaced with a single Solex 4A1 four-barrel carburettor introduced in 1977. Desmogged export models retained the twin SU's until 1980, when Bosch fuel injection was added.

A three-speed automatic transmission (a Turbo Hydramatic 350 sourced from General Motors) was standard. A four-wheel independent suspension with coil springs was augmented with a hydraulic self-levelling system (using the same system as did Citroën, but without pneumatic springs, and with the hydraulic components built under licence by Rolls-Royce), at first on all four, but later on the rear wheels only. Four wheel disc brakes were specified, with ventilated discs added for 1972.

The Corniche received a mild restyling in the spring of 1977. Difference included rack-and-pinion steering, alloy and rubber bumpers, aluminium radiator, oil cooler and a bi-level air conditioning system was added. Later changes included a modified rear independent suspension in March 1979. In March 1981, after the Silver Spirit had gone on sale, the Coupé version of the Corniche and its Bentley sister were discontinued. For 1985 there were also cosmetic and interior changes.